Poor John McCain can't seem to catch a break. He had planned to counter Barack Obama's historic Berlin speech on Thursday with a visit to a Louisiana oil rig to highlight his support of offshore drilling.

---

Now, Drudge is reporting that his oil rig photo op has been canceled due to weather....and it's been confirmed by MSNBC. McCain will travel to Ohio instead.

maybe because..

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed 29 miles of the Mississippi River from New Orleans southward after a tanker and a barge collided, spilling more than 400,000 gallons of fuel oil into the river.

Probably not the imagery the Republicans wanted for McCain's offshore drilling speech.

It's like being between a rock and hard place. So I'll just say that I hope McCain and the media get a clue, a message, anything from this sad event. And if they can't, then let the American people practice thinking.

6. "McCain's speech from an oil rig has been replaced by a visit to a diner in Ohio."

That line made me laugh out loud especially, as it was, spoken in the monotone drone of Brit Hume. I immediately got the image of McCain sitting alone by a window, asking a waitress, "Does the 'Corned Beef Delight' come with a gravy muffin?"

(Don't shoot the messenger for watching Fox... I happened to catch it while flipping channels during a commercial.)

A 58-mile stretch of the Mississippi River could remain closed for days because of the collision, after a tanker collided with a barge being pulled by a tugboat, slicing the barge in half and causing hundreds of thousands of gallons of heavy fuel oil to spill into the waterway.

No injuries were reported in the collision, but the heavy smell of fuel has continued to plague the French Quarter and other parts of the city.

The Coast Guard said that it had extended the closure area to 58 miles to as far south as Port Sulphur in Plaquemines Parish. Ships are being told not to enter the mouth of the river at Southwest Pass unless they have business south of river closure area, the Coast Guard said. Oil has been spotted to mile 60 around Point a la Hache area.

The Coast Guard is still investigating the cause of the incident. Captains of the tugboat and the tanker have been tested for drug and alcohol use, but the Coast Guard is not releasing any specifics until its investigation is complete.

In the meantime, state environmental officials are coordinating a massive effort to consolidate the oil and prevent it from drifting farther south, where there are more levee breaks that would allow it to leach into the wetlands.

16. You get the feeling that the universe doesn't want McCain as president?

I think the universe has determined McCain is not destined to become president. He's done enough to kill his campaign himself but the media has ignored it. Now it seems like the universe has said enough is enough, let's get rid of this clown. It's like some great Shakespearean comedy. However, it is as I like it.

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